UNEP and Government of Indonesia Emphasize Role of Blue Carbon in Combating Climate Change

UNEP 25 Feb 10;

Indonesia's Minister of Marine Affairs and Fisheries and UNEP Executive Director Achim Steiner launch the concept of Blue Carbon at the 11th Special Session of UNEP Governing Council in Nusa Dua, Bali

Nusa Dua Bali, Indonesia, February 25, 2010 - In a joint statement issued today at the XIth Special Session of the UNEP Governing Council, Indonesia's Minister of Marine Affairs and Fisheries Dr. Fadel Muhammad and UNEP Executive Director Achim Steiner have emphasized the important role of marine and coastal ecosystems in the fight against climate change.

The concept of Blue Carbon, which emphasizes the ability of marine and coastal ecosystems to sequester carbon, was introduced by UNEP in cooperation with the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) and the United Nations Education and Science Organization (UNESCO).

Blue Carbon emphasizes the key role of marine and coastal ecosystems, which are dominated by marine vegetation such as mangrove forests, seagrass, brackish marshes and salt marshes. Coastal and marine ecosystems are believed to be able to complement the role of forests (Green Carbon) in taking up carbon emissions through sequestration.

Mr. Steiner said: "We already know that marine and coastal ecosystems are multi-trillion dollar assets linked to sectors such as tourism, shipping and fisheries - now it is emerging that they are natural allies against climate change."

Mr. Steiner and Dr. Fadel jointly emphasized that the basis of their joint statement is the mandate of the Manado Ocean Declaration (MOD) declared last year, as well as efforts to control the adverse effects of climate change.

"We appeal to all countries to preserve these abilities of coastal and marine ecosystems as important variables in global climate change dynamic", said Dr. Fadel and Mr. Steiner.

"This has opened the opportunity to conduct further research on the important role of the ocean as a controller of climate change. Indonesia has an extensive area of mangroves and sea grass that in turn, will significantly contribute to the process of carbon sequestration in the coastal area", according to Dr. Fadel. "We have to work on this because the future of the earth and mankind depends on how we manage ocean wisely and in a sustainable manner. Time goes fast and we are faced with choices that cannot be negotiable. Humans must maintain a balance that has been played by the sea in order to keep functioning and able to absorb carbon from the impact of our activities ", explained Dr. Fadel.

Mr. Steiner added: "If the world is to decisively deal with climate change, every source of emissions and every option for reducing these should be scientifically evaluated and brought to the international community's attention-that should include all the colours of carbon including now blue carbon linked with the marine and coastal ecosystems. Our new partnership aims to catalyze international attention upon this important issue."

The marine issue has been one of the important pillars in a special session of UNEP's meeting of the 11th SSGC UNEP/GMEF. On 24 February, UNEP awarded its first-ever Leadership award in ocean and coastal management to President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono.

Notes to Editors:

Blue Carbon Concept

Besides the benefit of healthy marine and coastal ecosystems in providing the resources and environment services to the livelihoods of coastal communities, they also play an important role in maintaining the balance of climate and carbon sequestration that is a contributor to climate change. The role of the sea and its ecosystems is maintaining the balance of carbon absorption. These balancing capabilities that are eventually absorbed by the ocean and its ecosystem become disrupted as more greenhouse gases are produced as a result of human activity. Without any reduction in greenhouse gas emissions, the next few decades could see coastal and marine ecosystems become significantly reduced. This will mean a further impact on coastal communities, marine biota and ecosystems and other coastal issues.

The Blue Carbon Report - The Role of Healthy Oceans in Binding Carbon compiled by UNEP, FAO, UNESCO-IOC and IUCN describes the flow of carbon emissions and estimation capabilities of coastal and marine ecosystems to absorb carbon and greenhouse gases. This report was launched on 14 October 2009 at the Conference on Diversity, Cape Town Conference Center, South Africa.

This report confirms the important role of marine and coastal ecosystems in maintaining the climate balance. This report calls decision makers to mainstream the 'ocean' dimension into global climate change initiatives. The reports can be downloaded at the link http://www.grida.no/publications/rr/blue-carbon/.

Poor nations could be paid to preserve marine CO2 - UN
* UN official sees poor countries paid to protect oceans
* Study on ocean carbon storage launched
* Carbon capture and storage a gamble, official says

Sunanda Creagh, Reuters Alert 25 Feb 10;

NUSA DUA, Indonesia, Feb 25 (Reuters) - Developing countries could in future earn money from reducing carbon emissions by protecting oceans and marine ecosystems, a top U.N. official said on Thursday.

Sea grasses, mangroves and salt marshes naturally store huge amounts of carbon but this is released as greenhouse gases, such as carbon dioxide, when wetlands are drained or disturbed.

The head of the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), Achim Steiner, said a combination of public and private funds could be used to pay poor countries to repair and preserve carbon-rich marine environments.

"Do I believe that one day we might see a market for ocean-based carbon storage? I would say, at this point, why not?," Steiner told reporters at a UNEP conference in Nusa Dua, on the Indonesian island of Bali.

He said the scheme could be modelled on reduced emissions from deforestation and degradation (REDD), a U.N.-backed scheme under which developing countries would be paid for protecting and enhancing their forests.

REDD has been a central part of U.N. climate negotiations over the past two years, becoming one of the few areas to make substantial progress as nations try to agree on the outlines of a broader climate pact that would include steps to save forests.

REDD has attracted a lot of support because it could potentially unlock billions of dollars in carbon offset sales for developing nations to save remaining areas of rainforest that soak up large amounts of planet-warming carbon dioxide.

Forests, oceans and adjoining marine ecosystems are like the lungs of the atmosphere. But the more they are damaged or destroyed, the less they can brake the pace of global warming, scientists say. The trick is creating market mechanisms that put a price on the value of carbon to encourage their preservation.

RACE TO CAPTURE CARBON

"I assure you, the world will be increasingly searching for ways in which it can expand the planet's capacity to capture, sequester and store carbon," said Steiner.

"If we can create the parameters around which to measure the value of maintaining marine ecosystems and their net benefit to the international community,then the analogy that is applied with forest and land degradation would apply equally to marine conservation."

UNEP and the Indonesian government on Thursday jointly launched a global research project on marine carbon storage. Initial results are expected before major U.N. climate talks in Mexico at the end of the year, the follow-up to last December's Copenhagen summit.

Indonesia's fisheries minister, Fadel Muhammad, said that $1 million had been set aside for the study and more was expected from UNEP and other governments.

Steiner said carbon capture and storage (CCS) was an unnecessary gamble. Many big carbon emitting nations are looking at CCS as a way to capture the CO2 from coal-burning power stations and other big polluting operations and pump it underground.

While the technology is evolving and expensive, it remains uncertain if it will work when used widely around the globe.

"Nature, over millions of years, has perfected carbon capture and storage in our eco-systems," Steiner said.

"So as we spend billions of dollars right now looking for a technology to capture and store carbon back underground, we are neglecting the fact that nature's systems, in fact, turn what is a problem into an asset." (Editing by David Fogarty)

Don't Overlook Oceans in Climate Battle: UN
Fidelis E. Satriastanti Jakarta Globe 25 Feb 10;

More attention must be paid to the role of oceans in preserving the earth's climate, UN Environment Programme head Achim Steiner said in Bali on Thursday.

Steiner joined to Indonesian maritime minister Fadel Muhammad to launch a report on the role of oceans in carbon absorption at the ongoing UNEP conference in Nusa Dua. Scientists believe carbon emitted by human activities is altering the world's climate, melting glaciers and causing a dangerous rise in seal levels.

The report, titled "Blue Carbon," calls ocean plants such as mangroves, seagrass and marsh grasses "among the most intense" absorbers of carbon on the planet. But it finds these seaside habitats are disappearing at a rapid pace of two to seven percent per year.

But the interaction of oceans and climate must be further studied, Steiner said.

"If the world is to decisively deal with climate change, every source of emissions and every option for reducing these should be scientifically evaluated and brought to the international community's attention," he said.

Minister Fadel said the Maritime Affairs and Fisheries Research Agency or BRKP had begun to look into the question.

"We don't have sufficient research to be sure that our oceans are actually absorb carbon instead of releasing it. That is why we have been conducting pilot projects in Indonesia's ocean areas," said Fadel, adding that the research was in its early stages.

"The president is also very interested but he has asked me to make sure that we explain very clearly to the public about the importance of oceans and seas," he said.